Now Them’s Some Refried Beans

I’ve been really into finger foods lately. Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s that fact that I’m a working mother of three trying desperately to pay attention to her husband and her thesis (sadly, not in that order), but I’ve been thinking recently that there’s nothing better than making finger food for dinner and plopping down in front of the TV to eat it.

The other day we had friends over to watch the US soccer team play Ghana (good game), and I served cocktail munchies from the ’60s- a veggie platter and dip, meatballs (Ikea, of course), cubed cheese, sausage rolls, chips and salsa. We ate and drank beer and yelled at the TV all night. Yum.

Finger foods are also fast, not to mention that they’re something my kids really love to eat. You’re going to think I’ve been living in a cave for the past ten years (a cave called France, I remind you), but I’ve only just discovered Rachel Ray. And her kind of cooking fits right into my life at the moment. I picked up one of her books on 30 minute meals for kids at a book sale the other day, and while not all the recipes are perfect, enough of them are that I’m going to hang onto it for a while.

Tonight I’m making nachos. Whether we end up eating them in front of the TV is still undecided, but either way they’re going to be delicious. I’m not doing anything special, but I made refried beans from scratch.

Refried beans are really easy to make. Soak pinto beans overnight, cook for a really long time, then salt to taste. At this point I separate the beans into batches and freeze most of them. Then take some beans, add more water and cook until they’re soft and runny. To make nachos I drizzle the beans over cheaps, add sour cream, salsa, corn, tomatoes and avocado. As Rachel herself would say, “Delish.”

I take my cooked beans, mash them and mix with salsa, add rice and then 'scoop' it all up with tort chips, yummy….

I steam lots of veggies and keep them in big containers in the fridge. Then eat by the handful sometimes straight from the fridge cold, other times I heat in the micro, throw some soy sauce on top and eat with my fingers…yea- I AM a little strange like that…

We make our own beans all the time- I make a pound and then freeze them (in separate containers)- it works out great. I like to make them with onion and garlic powder (fresh would be good, too) and soy sauce. The soy sauce gives the beans a really nice flavor.

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